This invention relates generally to electronic thermometers and probes utilized therewith, and particularly to a type of probe and its relationship to the thermometer.
Electronic thermometers are now well-known in the art generally consisting of a temperature sensitive resistance element such as a thermistor forming one arm of a bridge circuit. The thermistor is usually contained in the tip of a probe, which probe is put in contact with the body in order to sense the temperature which temperature is then electrically measured by the bridge circuit and eventually read out on either a dial or in digital form. Heretofore, such electronic thermometers have been used almost exclusively in clinical surroundings such as hospitals, doctors' offices and the like. This has in part been due to the fact that, because electronic thermometers require a high degree of accuracy and stability to be of any use, they have been relatively expensive to manufacture and as a result generally beyond the financial means of the average consumer. Further, the almost exclusive clinical use of electronic thermometers have led them to be designed with certain features which are undesirable for a thermometer suitable for home use. For example, most electronic thermometers utilized today have probes which are connected to the thermometer by some type of jack assembly. This is necessary so that different probes can be used with different thermometers in a place such as a hospital or the like where many units are in use. Also, because one unit generally services a number of unrelated patients, it has heretofore been necessary to provide some form of disposable probe which could be utilized with one patient and then discarded. Such disposable probes have generaly taken the form of rigid plastic sheath which is placed over a rigid probe making an electrical contact thereto. Thus, while the above-described features have served as advantages for thermometers used in large clinical applications, they also have marked disadvantages which are tolerated in clinical applications but very undesirable if the thermometer is to be used by the average family in a domestic setting. For example, most probes used in present electric thermometers are rigid thereby presenting a danger of injury to the patient, especially in the case of small children where the thermometer is generally used rectally. Further, since most probes are attached to the thermometer by some type of jack assembly so as to be interchangeable among different thermometers, when a probe is used with a thermometer other than the one for which it was originally intended, the second thermometer must be recalibrated for use with that probe. In a clinical setting, where the personnel are well-trained, this is somewhat of a problem, but to the average consumer with no training it would be a large problem. Also providing circuitry for such recalibration markedly increases the cost of the device. Further, since the average electronic thermometer used in clinical settings is used many times a day, there is little need to worry about storing it or the probe and little concern about its size. On the other hand, to be satisfactory for home use which occurs only when there is illness, the thermometer and probe must be compact and capable of easy storage in a medicine cabinet or the like.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to supply a small compact, accurate, inexpensive electronic thermometer capable of being used by the average consumer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a flexible probe which is safe and not a danger to patients, particularly children.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a probe which is permanently affixed to a single thermometer, thereby avoiding the necessity of recalibration.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a probe and thermometer such that the probe and its connecting wire are readily stored on the thermometer itself in a compact fashion.